


Will you hold on harder?

by msmoocow



Category: Glee
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-21
Updated: 2012-04-21
Packaged: 2017-11-04 02:18:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/388607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msmoocow/pseuds/msmoocow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Old wounds and new beginnings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Will you hold on harder?

At Sectionals, Kurt pulls Blaine over to introduce him to all his McKinley friends. Blaine's only met Mercedes so far, and she gives him a tight-lipped smile as Kurt points and names every member of New Directions. The one named Puck has his fist raised -- honestly, he;s not sure whether he should bump it or duck -- but he lets it hang in the air because Kurt is pointing to a figure in the back he hadn't seen right off and saying, " -- and lastly, this is Quinn -- I heard she's got a great duet today, she's gonna be ah-mazing." 

The weight of his shock makes everything fuzzy, and it feels like a great effort to shape his mouth around his words His tongue grazes the roof of his mouth, clumsy and foreign, and he just barely whispers, "Lu --" before he's cut off with a wide-eyed, jerky shake of Lucy's -- _Quinn's?_ \-- head. 

Her frantic look yanks him back to reality and he coughs a little to cover up his mistake. Puck,-- whose fist has remained in position this whole time, oh god, how awful of Blaine to ignore it,-- opens his hand to give Blaine a hearty slap on the back. "You alright, gargler?" he asks. 

"Yeah. I think I'm just gonna...go...get a drink of water. Meet you backstage?" He looks at Kurt, who doesn't seem to suspect a thing and nods. The rest of them disperse, but Qunn follows him to the water fountain and he breathes, deep and steady, trying to figure out what to say. 

"Don't call me Lucy." She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear -- _blonde_ hair, straight and glossy. 

"Okay." He blinks slowly. "You look..." he says, tracing a path with his eyes from her hair to her dainty nose, lingering on the slim wrists he used to hold during prayer circles, years ago. 

"Pretty? Happy?" 

The first is irrefutable; the second is questionable. He doesn't know how to finish, so he settles with a word that's as close to an answer as he can manage. "Good." 

She snorts delicately. "Of course I do." Her eyes soften though, morph into a look of guilt and -- no, anything but, _please_ \-- pity. "It's been a long time, Blaine. I'm still sorry, you know, I should have come to you at the hospital. I should have told everyone else in Bible study to stuff it -- " 

"Why'd you," Blaine gestures to her face, her hair, cutting her off because he can't do this _now_ , not thirty minutes before a performance, and not when he's been blindsided with stirred-up memories -- of the best friend he'd ever made at Bible study, the lonely girl who showed him that he wasn't alone, only to leave him floundering in the aftermath of the worst months of his life.. 

She flinches, folds her arms tight. "I needed to change. I hated who I was. By the time I transferred districts, people _wanted_ to look at me. They wanted to _be_ me." 

"Well, I'm glad you got what you wanted...Quinn. I've missed you." He gives her his warmest smile, and what's more is he _means_ it.They might never recover what they had -- there are far too many wounds for that, little scars and scabs left over from when she so abruptly walked out of his life. But it doesn't mean they can't start over, rebuild something out of this tenuous connection. 

She smiles back just as warmly, and it's the first glimpse of the old Lucy that he's managed to capture, It's imprecise, and it's stunning. "We'd better head back. It's getting closer to showtime." 

"Yeah," Blaine nods. He wonders if he'll tell Kurt about their shared history -- he's told Kurt practically everything else about his past within the few weeks he's known him -- but decides against it. He doesn't know if he'll be seeing Quinn much more in the future, and for now their childhood friendship is too close to memories of a time he's not ready to share with Kurt just yet. 

They walk to the auditorium togethe, and just as they're about to part, she grabs his arm before he can turn away. "Wait," she says. "You recognized me earlier, right away. How? I don't look anything like I used to." 

Blaine tilts his head and looks her squarely in the eye. "You were the most beautiful girl in the room. You always were." 

Her solo is fantastic, and Blaine truly is happy for her. He glances over at Kurt, who looks just as proud, and grins because he just can't help it. She's always had a voice, just waiting to be heard. 

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanon ficlet inspired by Tumblr user [michelina](http://michelina.tumblr.com), aka friendships I'd love to see explored onscreen! Originally posted [here](http://youmooveme.tumblr.com/post/18897093880/msmoocows-wishlist-of-emotionally-relevant) as part of a series of drabbles set to a wishlist of emotionally relevant Blaine songs -- this one was prompted by Farewell Continental's "Radio, Radio Are You Getting This".


End file.
